Couple lost in Massachusetts corn maze causes media bonanza

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

One couple’s corn maze nightmare has turned into a media bonanza for a corn maze owner.

‘We have the whole country chasing us,’ said Bob Connor, owner of Connors Farm, in a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times. ‘Nothing like this has ever happened.’

A Massachusetts couple got the publicity ball rolling late Monday afternoon -- though they didn’t know it at the time -- when they entered the Connors Farm corn maze with their newborn. The farm is in Danvers, Mass., about 20 miles north of Boston.

The couple had difficulty finding their way out as darkness fell, so they placed a desperate call to 911 -- and were eventually rescued by a K-9 unit.

The incident might have ended there, but the Danvers police released audio of the call to CBS Boston. At that point, the story went viral.

In audio of the call, the police dispatcher reassures the tearful mother that help is on the way, and tells the father to yell ‘Hello, K-9’ to help the rescue unit find the lost family.

On Wednesday morning, Connor appeared on ‘Good Morning America’ to talk about the maze. He said he’s also had word that both Jay Leno and David Letterman plan to discuss the corn maze incident on their shows Wednesday night.

In an interview with The Times, Connor acknowledged that this year’s maze -- which has a headless horseman/Salem, Mass., theme -- was more difficult than last year’s Clint Eastwood-themed maze.

‘On a scale of 1 to 10, it’s probably a 9 [in difficulty], where Clint Eastwood was like 7,’ he said.

He also said he was surprised the couple felt compelled to call 911. ‘They were only 25 feet from the exit when they called the police,’ he said. ‘Maybe they didn’t want to ruin it for us, but in an emergency situation, it is perfectly acceptable to cut through the corn.’

Connor said he plans to put a marker on the spot where the family got lost, but hasn’t decided what it will say just yet. ‘I don’t want to offend them at all,’ he said. ‘Maybe I’ll just say, ‘The Famous Spot’ and let people read between the lines.’

ALSO:

Couple lost in corn maze calls 911

Replace the dollar bill with a $1 coin, lawmakers propose

Kraken sea monster found? Researcher is mocked for theory

--Deborah Netburn